THOUSANDS OF VILLAGERS WERE EVACUATED AFTER A VOLCANO ON AN ISLAND IN EASTERN INDONESIA STARTED SPEWING LAVA AND HOT CLOUDS, AP QUOTED INDONESIAN OFFICIALS AS SAYING FRIDAY. THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF CASUALTIES. THE STATUS OF THE 1,784-METER (5,850-FEET) MOUNT KARANGETANG, ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST ACTIVE MOUNTAINS, WAS RAISED TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL MORE THAN ONE WEEK AGO, SAID SAUT SIMATUPANG, CHIEF RESEARCHER AT THE GOVERNMENT'S VOLCANOLOGICAL AGENCY. LAVA AND HOT ASH AVALANCHED 750 METERS (YARDS) DOWN THE VOLCANO'S SLOPES ON THURSDAY, ITS SECOND ERUPTION SINCE JULY 17, SIMATUPANG SAID FROM HIS OFFICE IN WEST JAVA CAPITAL OF BANDUNG. NEARLY 4,000 PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED FROM FIVE VILLAGES, SAID ISKANDAR GOBEL, A NORTH SULAWESI PROVINCIAL OFFICIAL, AND POLICE IN THE AREA SAID MORE WOULD LIKELY LEAVE IN COMING DAYS. THE MOUNT'S LAST ERUPTION WAS IN 1996 BUT CAUSED NO CASUALTIES, WHILE AN ERUPTION IN 1992 KILLED SIX VILLAGERS. INDONESIA, THE WORLD'S LARGEST ARCHIPELAGO, IS PRONE TO SEISMIC UPHEAVAL DUE TO ITS LOCATION ON THE SO-CALLED PACIFIC «RING OF FIRE,» AN ARC OF VOLCANOS AND FAULT LINES ENCIRCLING THE PACIFIC BASIN. KARANGETANG IS ON SIAU, PART OF THE SULAWESI ISLAND CHAIN, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN AFFECTED BY A RECENT STRING OF NATURAL DISASTERS. A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE OFF JAVA ISLAND TRIGGERED A TSUNAMI EARLIER THIS MONTH THAT LEFT 600 DEAD AND A TEMBLOR ON THE SAME ISLAND IN MAY KILLED 5,800. MOUNT MERAPI, ALSO ON JAVA, HAS SEEN HEIGHTENED ACTIVITY IN RECENT MONTHS.
